This article was initially published on 09/07/18, and has been updated for accuracy on 06/04/21. Dementia can have a tremendous impact on the person living with it, but also their family and loved ones. There are many types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia, and the symptoms differ between each type. However, because dementia […]
Real-life stories from our customers and carers
Inspirational stories from the people we support and the carers that enable them to live as independently as possible.
Social butterfly: Katie’s story
1 April by Alice CloughNew Milton customer Katie Frampton is a social butterfly. She loves keeping busy with hobbies such as swimming and horse-riding, but due to the recent lockdowns, Katie has missed them. We spoke with Katie to find out about how she’s been keeping her socialite status with the help of her Helping Hands support workers… “I was introduced […]
Aspiring actor and busy bee: Leo’s story
1 April by Alice CloughTwenty-year-old Leo Hayes is an aspiring actor from Wolverhampton. Leo is always on the move, travelling over to Coventry to go to Hereward College for his love of drama. Due to lockdown restrictions, we spoke virtually with Leo via video call with his lovely support worker Harriet Davies from Helping Hands. Leo always has a […]
Remembering the fallen: Bob’s story
11 November by Lauren KnowlesMeet live-in customer Robert (Bob) Hucklesby, a former prisoner of war and activist for the welfare of ex-prisoners of war and their families. Here, Bob tells us his story of how he survived three and a half years of imprisonment and how he – as he reaches his 100th birthday in January 2021 – continues […]
Surviving the Lisbon Maru: Dennis’ story
3 November by Lauren KnowlesDennis is 101, a father, grandfather, great grandfather, great great grandfather and one of only two remaining surviving prisoners of the Lisbon Maru. Here, Dennis shares his experience of his time on the Lisbon Maru and surviving three years and eight months in Japanese captivity. “I grew up in London and then left home to […]
Trips out for Andrew in Warwickshire
14 July by Laura Belford-ThomasWarwickshire customer Andrew receives funding for a social visit each week, but is unfortunately unable to receive support towards transport. Andrew is dependent on a large motorised wheelchair, which means that the cost for him to visit his local town centre for the day costs around £50, and he is unable to access community transport due […]
Alpaca Therapy: Lawrie’s Story
24 March by Lauren KnowlesLawrie started to receive support from the Helping Hands Shrewsbury and Telford Team in 2019 following a sepsis infection. After a number of weeks in hospital, Lawrie was able to return home, but the sepsis had left long-lasting effects on his overall wellbeing and he was unable to care for himself. However, when they were […]
Shout out to the York Team for making Katie’s Little Mix wish come true
22 November by Laura Belford-ThomasThe Helping Hands York Care Team have made one of their customer’s wishes come true by taking her to a Little Mix concert. Katie, who lives with cerebral palsy, was surprised by the tickets after branch Care Coordinator, Nik, managed to acquire tickets generously provided by the First Direct Arena in Leeds. This enabled Katie […]
Building up confidence with a carer in Basildon
7 November by Laura Belford-ThomasDennis, a customer looked after by our Basildon team, had spent quite a bit of time not wanting to go out much before we started care with him. He was unsteady on his feet and needed support mobilising safely in and around the house. Dennis was quite withdrawn and didn’t have the confidence to go […]
Building connections with live-in care: Pete & Madelene’s story
7 November by Laura Belford-ThomasPete is 37 years old and living with cerebral palsy, and following a long spell in hospital, he began receiving live-in support from our central team. From a man who was once lacking in confidence with very little speech, Pete is now living happily and independently at home with the support of his live-in carer, […]
